It was old home week of sorts for Jermaine Gabriel this past week. Second home week, anyway.
The former Calgary Colts star was in Cowtown with his new team, defending Grey Cup champion Toronto Argonauts, who beat the Stampeders at McMahon Stadium on Saturday, September 21, and practiced here all week before heading up to Edmonton to face the Eskimos.
While in Calgary the rookie defensive back reconnected with his Colts friends and almost got to see them upset Canadian Junior Football League’s No. 1 Regina Thunder on Sunday, September 22. The Colts came up five points shy of winning their first game of the season.
Gabriel watched the game from the Colts bench, decked out in a Colts shirt, thus giving his Argonauts colours a day off.
“They told me I need to come more often if that is the way they play when I’m here,” Gabriel said.
Gabriel believes the Colts are a better team than their record indicates.
“They have a lot of great players and leadership and they’ve got great coaches. They’ve got to stop shooting themselves in the foot. They left a lot of plays out there,” he said.
Gabriel is establishing himself as a solid contributor in his first year in the Canadian Football League. After his lone season with the Colts and an explosive performance at the CFL’s pre-draft combine, he was selected by his hometown team in the second round (17th overall) in the 2013 draft.
Gabriel had two defensive tackles and four special teams tackles in a 33-27 win over the Stampeders on the same field he starred on as a Colt, though this time in front of about 30,000 more fans.
“I felt good looking up in the stands and seeing that many people,” he said.
“The more people in the stands the better I play. It helps motivate me. Everyone comes out to watch you, so you want to give them a good show.”
Gabriel purposely moved to Calgary to play for head coach John Stevens because he believed it would best prepare him for a shot at the CFL.
“It’s fun. This is what I wanted to do, play professional football. I knew it was not going to be easy. Everybody’s here trying to feed their family,” he said.
“But, to be able to play professional football is truly a blessing, so I’m going to try and love every day of it.”
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